No Man's Land: A History of El Camino Real

A regional history blends archival research and local folklore to trace the Royal Road and its frontier corridor. It describes encounters among Indigenous communities, French and Spanish traders and missionaries, and the settlement patterns that produced trading posts, presidios, and mission sites. The narrative examines the Neutral Strip as a lawless zone that fostered contraband and violent conflict, the later establishment of military posts to impose order, and the economic and social forces that shaped migration and community life. Appendices of land grants, baptismal records, and personnel lists are used to corroborate the account and illuminate everyday life along the route.